Health care network sets up Arkansas captive insurer

Arkansas has approved the state’s first special-purpose captive insurance company, which will back health care provider Baptist Health.

The insurer, Diamond Risk Insurance L.L.C., is a wholly owned subsidiary of the nonprofit health care organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas, which has eight hospitals as well as therapy and wellness centers, nursing schools and a retirement village, according to Baptist Health’s website.

The insurance provided via the captive will include liability and workers compensation coverage, a spokesman for the state said.

The Tuesday approval of the special-purpose captive “will blaze a trail for more Arkansas companies to offer insurance coverage to their employees,” Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr said in a statement.

At this time, the newly formed captive is the only one in Arkansas, the state’s spokesman said.